Boyfriend From Hell (Falling Angels Saga) (27 page)

“Talk about vain.” He was still smiling, trying to make light of my words.

“I’m serious, Guy. I’m not the kind of girl who gets the Guy Matsons. I know that. I also know you’re not who you say you are.
Who
are you?”

His expression changed. It was startling how quickly he could become serious. The serious Guy was even more gorgeous.

He sighed. “I was sent here to protect you,” he said softly.

“Yeah, right! Well, you did a lousy job. I almost died.”

“You’re right. I did do a lousy job. That’s because I broke the cardinal rule of a Guardian. A Guardian is supposed to remain objective; don’t get involved, just protect. Instead, I fell in love.”

When he said he’d fallen in love, my heart began to race.

“Guardian?” I focused on the one word. I knew if I thought about the other thing he said, I’d begin to hyperventilate.

“Yes, sent from…” He looked up to the ceiling.

The room began spinning. I blinked my eyes several times to make it stop. So much for not hyperventilating. 
Love… Guardian.
It was all too much for me.

“Are you all right?” He took a step toward me. I held up my good hand, stopping him.

“Of course I’m not all right. You mean like a Guardian
Angel?
” My eyes lashed out at him.

“Yes. That’s exactly what I mean.”

I took a few deep breaths. The spinning slowed, but I was still feeling off balance. I tried laughing at the ridiculousness of it.

“You’re asking me to believe that the boy who asked me to ditch class and disobey my mother is an
angel
?”

He nodded. “I was sent here by the good guys to protect you from
him
.” His eyes were somber.

I finally had my breathing under control. The spinning stopped.  “Guy, I want to believe you.”

“It’s the truth. I have no reason to lie.”

“I’ve been through a lot these past few months. This is just too hard to believe: first the devil comes into our lives, and now an
angel?
”

“I know. Hard to believe. But it’s true.” I looked into his eyes; they stared back, unwavering.

“But you arrived in Glendale before Armando came into our lives.”

“I needed to be in place before Candlemas.”

The only people who knew about Candlemas were Aunt Jaz and Maudrina—and Matt. I looked at him in disbelief, but a part of me was starting to believe.

Guy Matson was an angel… an angel who said he’d fallen in love with me.

“I have a lot of explaining to do. But please know, my hands were tied. I would never have deserted you.”

He reached out and touched my arm. I hadn’t realized how long I had ached for his touch until then.

“They made me stop seeing you.”

“Who made you?”

“It’s hard to explain. But my superior forbade me from further contact. At the cost of—”

Just then, my mother came back into the room. “I think my daughter’s had enough excitement for one day,” she said, shooting daggers at Guy.

Talk about rotten timing.

He looked from her, to me. “Yes. I think she has. Thank you, Mrs. Barnett, for allowing me this time with her.” The perfect gentleman. He looked me in the eye. “Until we meet again,” he said, and walked from the room.

“There’s something about that boy. I can’t put my finger on it, but I don’t want you seeing him anymore.”

Maudrina drifted back in.

“I don’t think you’ll have to worry about that, Mom.”

“Why? What did he say?”

“Mom, please stop.”

Maudrina was trying to read my expression. Good luck. I didn’t even know how I felt. All Guy’s visit had done was make things even more confusing.
Until we meet again.

My mind was reeling. What Guy had said was preposterous. Yet in his words, I found a ray of sunshine. He implied I would get to see his sweet face at least one more time. I looked forward to it, no matter what.

“You’re upset,” my mother said, continuing to needle. “Did he tell you something bad?”

“Yes, he did. He said he was leaving.” It was a lie. But if he was truly a guardian angel, and I didn’t need guarding anymore, didn’t that mean he would be leaving soon?

My response put a stop to her needling. I could see in her eyes she was pleased he would be gone soon. I could also tell Maudrina was waiting until we were alone for me to dish about Guy’s visit. I knew I couldn’t tell her what he’d said, not until I was certain it was true.

“Think I need some rest,” I said, and yawned. I looked at Maudrina.

“Oh? Okay, I guess I’ll go.”

I nodded. She was obviously disappointed. I’d make it up to her.

Matt’s funeral was on Saturday. There was a tremendous turnout—most of the student body was there. Matt was very popular.

It was held at Masenger’s. Most of the funerals in our community were held there because the Masengers were locals. The good people of Glendale didn’t trust sending off their loved ones to one of the big corporations.

It was my first funeral.

I didn’t know what to expect. I’d seen lots of funerals in movies or on TV, but that was different. The chapel was small, with rows of folding chairs facing forward. The casket was closed.

I sat with the family. I was like a daughter to the Dawsons. Losing a beloved son is no easy thing to endure. Mrs. Dawson seemed broken beyond repair. She kept squeezing my hand until I thought I’d lose circulation, but I never pulled it away. My heart ached for her.

I was still wearing a cast on my left arm as I sat in the chapel crying my eyes out along with the rest of the family. Matt had been my best friend since kindergarten. Despite almost destroying my life, his loss touched my soul.

When the funeral was over and we were filing out, I saw Erin seated alone in the back of the chapel. She wore oversized shades to hide her bleary eyes. I thought back to brighter days, when the three of us hung out at the mall or rendezvoused at our lockers before class. Only two remained. Now more than ever, Erin and I needed to reconnect.

Later at the house, I caught her staring at me. The shades were removed. The anger was gone from her tear-soaked eyes. She seemed lost.

 When I looked at her, she looked away. I knew I needed to fix the rift between us. Matt would want that.

I had been asked to help with the repast at the house. It was difficult since I was only able to use one arm, but I took coats, got food for friends and relatives, whatever the Dawsons needed of me.

To my surprise, Guy showed up. He hardly knew Matt, yet he came to pay his respects to his parents.

The moment my mother saw him, her expression darkened. She kept giving me things to do so that I wouldn’t have a moment to talk to him.

He seemed uncomfortable among the strangers. I’d never seen Guy uncomfortable around anyone before. He was always on top of things. But not today. I knew he was only waiting around to talk to me.

Once, while I was helping an elderly relative with her walker—a real chore with one arm—I smiled across the room at him.

“Megan, when you’re done there, could you see if there are any more soft drinks in the cooler?” my mother called. She was determined to keep us apart. I went out to the kitchen to check on the soft drinks. There were plenty.

When I returned, Guy was gone.

As the guests thinned and my duties waned, I began looking for Erin. I hoped she hadn’t left before we’d had a chance to talk.

I found her outside, sitting alone in the porch swing. Matt and I used to sit in that old swing for hours planning our fabulous futures. I came over and sat next to her. She didn’t move.

“I’m so sorry, Erin.”

She nodded. Fresh tears cascaded down her cheeks. I moved to give her a hug and she jerked away.

“No!”

I was caught off guard by her reaction. “Erin?”

“Stay away from me.” Her words were filled with rage. She eased herself out of the swing. “How dare you come here?”

“What do you mean? Matt was my best friend.”

“This is all your fault.”

I stiffened.
She knows about the deal with the devil?
I thought. I stared at her, waiting for her to reveal what she knew.

“He talked about you all the time. He was in love with you, you know. I was his
second
choice.” Her words were coming from some far-off place.

“No, that’s not true. He told me he cared about you.”

“I know he cared about me, idiot! But he
loved
you. He never told me he did. He was too much of a gentleman for that. You had some kind of magical hold over him. I tried my best to break it, but I couldn’t.  And you did everything you could to break us up, even though you didn’t want him.”

I was suddenly riddled with guilt. “I’m sorry about that. It was stupid of me, but I was jealous. It’s selfish, I know, but I guess I thought I was losing both of you.”

She ignored my apology. “All Matt ever did was worry about you.
Megan this
and
Megan that
.” She released a bitter chuckle. “And now look at us. You have Guy, and I have
nothing.
” There was pure hatred in her words.

“Erin, please—” I reached for her, and she jerked away.

“No!” she said again, holding her up index finger. “He killed himself because he couldn’t have you. He drove into a pole at a hundred miles an hour for you, Megan. How does that make you feel? Special?”

My head started spinning. “No! That’s not true!”

“You know it is. No one wants to talk about it, but everyone knows it was suicide. But only you and I know why. He killed himself for you.”

“No, don’t say that!” My throat seemed to be swelling, and the words inched out. “It’s not true.”

But in a sense she was right, and the rightness of it filled me with guilt.
If only I had the chance to do it all over again.

And yet, as right as she was, she couldn’t have been further from the truth. Matt had taken his own life to right the wrong he’d done. She had no idea of the deal he’d made with the devil. I would never tell.

“I could have made him happy, if you’d have let me.”

“I’m sorry,” I said again. My voice was cracking. I reached for her again, and she moved away.

“Stay away from me, Megan Barnett! I can’t believe I used to follow you around like a little puppy dog. Well, no more. This was my time, and you stole it from me. I can’t ever forgive you for that.”

“But… Erin, we need each other now. Matt would want it. We’re best friends.”

A bitter laugh sprang from her lips. It was so filled with venom, it reminded me of Armando. “That was before you ruined my life.
Now
I am your enemy. Never turn your back on me!”

I returned to school on Monday.

Whispers of Matt’s suicide swirled all around me like ghosts in a graveyard. No one would say it to my face. They knew how close we were. But I heard the whispers in the wind.

I got a surprise when I arrived at English class.

“Erin’s transferred out,” Maudrina said. “I guess she couldn’t take the memories.”

I didn’t want to tell her about my conversation with Erin after the funeral.

“Did you know?” she asked.

“No. I’m as surprised as you are.”

Erin was acting irrationally. I would reach out to her again once her grief had faded. I was certain I could get through to her. She just needed time.

On a whim after class, I went to the familiar stairwell. To my surprise, Guy was waiting. When I saw him, I wanted to rush into his arms. But there was too much left unsaid from our last meeting. I kept my distance.

“Hi.”

He was wearing jeans and sneaks, and a white V-neck tee. His dreamy eyes were once again pulling me in.

“Hi. I hoped you’d come.” His words sent a chill of desire dancing through the pit of my stomach.

“I hoped you’d be here,” I replied. We stared into each other’s eyes for an eternal moment, and I could feel myself sinking deeper and deeper. “So, you’re my guardian angel,” I said, breaking the spell.

“We’re called Guardians. They think the angel label is a little too intimidating.” He made no attempt to move  toward me. Something was troubling him.

“Ya think?”

He smiled. I needed to see that smile.

“So there are a lot of you guys around?”

“Yes. Men, women, boys, girls. We are called upon to protect the innocent souls of the living from demons.”

 “But you failed to protect me.”

He shook his head as if he still couldn’t believe it. “I did everything right. I made contact, I worked my way into your confidence, but something went wrong.”

“And that is...” I knew how I wanted him to complete the sentence.

“I fell in love.”

While these were the words I’d been waiting to hear, I proceeded cautiously. “You fell in love?” There was a hint of skepticism in my words.

“Yes.” The word came out tortured. “Once they realized I loved you, I was told I had failed my mission. Once a Guardian fails, he is not allowed to help. Your soul was in the hands of fate.” He smiled. “But as it turned out, you didn’t need me.”

“Is that why you didn’t go inside Armando’s house with me that night?”

“I wasn’t even supposed to be there. I came to try and get you to leave. I was so worried about you. I knew what was going on in there, but I was forbidden to tell you. And you were so determined to go in. That was the night they clipped my wings. They told me I had disobeyed orders, and I had to end contact immediately.”

I raised an eyebrow.

“But I didn’t. I couldn’t. I disobeyed a second time, and now I cannot go back. I am doomed to walk the earth.”

“That’s the cost you were talking about in the hospital.”

He nodded and then smiled his smile. “Although, I can think of a lot worse fate.”

“A fallen angel.” It came out more statement than question.

He shrugged. “I guess.”

“What will you do?” There was genuine concern in my words. There was also hope.